453. Sunak is ‘same old same old’ make no mistake.

Sunak is NOT an ‘elected’ PM as many in the UK media are wrongly calling him, and neither is he a ‘new broom’ which is the old Tory trick, pretending that the latest leader erases the horrors of the very recent past.

Firstly and most easily to grasp is the fact that Sunak is, was and remains a Brexiter.  And Brexit is at the heart of the economic woes of the country that were ratcheted up by the Truss mini-budget/massive disaster.

Along with his not-long-ago bosom buddy Boris Johnson plus – Union Leader Mike Lynch and ex-minister for desperately seeking Breixt benefits Rees-Mogg and including Truss and Gove and a whole host of other nasties, Sunak et al should be forced to watch the FT video (below) in a cold dark room for the rest of their natural lives .

Of course that would be when, Johnson isn’t on holiday.

Far be it from me – a left of centre leftie – to praise or even agree with any element of right of centre FT but this you tube video of the realities of Brexit should be compulsory viewing – albeit we’d all rather watch the pro-Scottish Independence muppet video.

It was reported last week that a majority of the Conservative party membership wanted Boris Johnson back. They clearly prefer lying, cheating, posh racism, opportunism, toadying to Russian oligarchs, proroguing Parliament and partygate monster etc etc etc to the complete batshit insanity of Truss. I get that. But they are hugely missing the point of how we got here. That is nowhere more evident than the muted praise for Truss’s handler Hunt. (see last post)

Decades of Tory- instigated (and Blair supported) privatisation and involvement of the profit-first sector in public institutions – followed by Tory austerity followed by catastrophe catalyst Brexit led to the current car crash.

One can only hope that when Sunak has completed the £400,000 swimming pool in one of his four 'family' homes, he might attend at the problems of increased rates of homelessness, exponential growth in the use of foodbanks since his party came to power and of the water companies, privatised by his party, dumping raw sewage into the waterways and coastal waters the rest of us like to swim in.

But here’s the video

Reality of Brexit courtesy of the FT

Brexit reality.

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452. The Hunt for Dead October…

The British PM now has a minder – Jeremy (woops – I forgot I owned all that property) Hunt.

After lunatic aunty Liz Truss sacked her chancellor this October for carrying out her agenda in his budget-not-a-budget last month – she was forced to either cut KK loose or take responsibility herself. It was a no brainer for the woman with no brain.

So – while much of the British media and public seem to forget or be unaware that our ongoing humiliations are entirely under scrutiny by the rest of the world – and while many Brexiters labour under the crushing delusion that Britain still rules the waves and is excused any amount of madness due to some sort of overhanging exceptionalism – I’d like to gently ease them back to reality with some of my imagined headlines from foreign journals –

My favourite for obvious reasons –

‘The Hunt for Dead October’

‘Truss trussed’

‘Britannia drools’

‘Hell in a handcart with Hunt (part III How low can we go)’

‘Trussonomics trolled by Greece’

 

And – in a double bill this week here’s a rap (of sorts) In  times of great catastrophe - the ratio of poetry per head of population always increases and its certainly on the up on this blog.

Woz good at banking

Now we’re tanking

In the world ranking

Chad is outflanking

(Britain on cred)

 

 ‘Oh dear’ ses Charlie-king

No he’s not thanking

Cos Truss is skanking

Markets all panicking

(Cos we’re stuffed)

 

Print pounds get franking

Liz thinks its spanking

This right-wing pranking

But I am hankering

(For sanity…)

 

And so on and so forth...

I’ll let you complete the one with the W…

 

These set pieces were also used in letters to the press last week and here's another letter which has been enjoyed by a few folk after it was printed in The Guardian

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Do check out My Books and remember - re Fun Poems for Children  I put up you tube vids of all the poems for my grandkids during covid - they are still there - you tube.

451. Epidemic epic stupidity is what will finish us...

Ebola in Uganda - 

Just over 8 years ago I posted a blog entitled -

Viagra - YES. Cure for Malaria - NO!

Plus I dealt with this whole scenario in my fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian mash up a few years ago called -

Zero One Zero Two

Fast forward to 2022 and, following the immensely impressive fast-forwarded development of the multiple vaccines for covid, still there is no cure for Ebola which has broken out again in Uganda.

Of course there is the inherent racism which is obvious to anyone paying attention in the way we approach diseases that terrorise developing nations as opposed to the 'urgent' sometimes aesthetic demands of the West. 

Also, much as we may not like to consider it - there is the profit motive - as with everything else. The pandemic didn't just make big bucks here in the UK for Conservative cronies and profiteers who cornered big contracts (often for things that didn't work or they could not actually provide) it made massive profits for big pharma. Until it looks like Ebola could do likewise - it will not elicit the same focus.

That inherent stupidity should worry us all deeply. 

Ebola is many times more infectious and deadly than covid. Are we really going to wait until it affects wealthy nations?

Even in the interest of self-interest - surely we can see that is a really bad approach...

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Do check out my adult novels, children's books and poetry anthologies by clikcing HERE or check out any good online book store.

450. Where are those sunlit uplands?

While the Conservatives change leaders like dirty underwear, foisting random idiots on the rest of us, the British public look on aghast. 

Are these the promised Tory 'sunlit uplands'?

Yes – I know – poetry again this week but then – I am a poet and this is what we do in times of trauma…

 

Where are those sunlit uplands?

Loony Liz and Kwasi

Dream team of our era

With the joint intellect of half a slug

The apocalypse draws nearer

 

Let’s frack our way to doomsday

While hedge fund managers revel

What’s trickling down isn't wealth my friend

But manna to the devil

 

Never mind turds in waterways

Floods or eco devastation

Lizz is her own universe

And screw the poor of the nation

 

Popularity with the uber rich

Is the only thing that matters

And never mind that the country

Is ruined and in tatters

 

Cameron, Osborne, Johnson, May

Mogg,  Kwarteng, Patel (etc)

Promised sunlit uplands

While steering us to hell…

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AND - while we cannot expect impartiality - especially from the state broadcaster the BBC - now in the hands of Richard Sharp - huge Tory donor and previous advisor to top Tories Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak before Sharp was gifted the powerful previously a-political position of BBC Chair - in other countries - the dots have been joined up by  savvy commentators e.g. MSNBC

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As always do check out my novels and anthologies and children's books  HERE or on goodreads or any good online book store. 

Plus - its artists support at Bandcamp Friday again this week so do also check out my environmental epic poem on audio Casey & the Surfmen